there is a zwave device on my network called “front door release” the system thinks it is a light, I would like it set as a door lock release. Is it possible for you to change that on your end?
Happy to help!
It is not possible to update the Device Type of a Z-Wave device. The panel sets the Device Type based on the information it receives from the Z-Wave device itself.
To better assist, what is the make/model of the device you are utilizing?
It is a Fortrezz mimolite.
Yes, the Fortrezz Mimolite is a Binary Switch type device and will show up in the light switches section in Alarm.com. The device type in ADC cannot be manually edited at this time. It would not have any impact on how the device itself functions locally, just where it is listed in ADC.
I know we have discussed with ADC in the past manually organizing devices since you might want appliance modules and stuff like the mimolite to be separated from light switches. I believe it came down to using Groups as the ideal solution to organize them. For example you can create groups and assign the utility switch types to one group and the everyday light switches to another. This can offer meaningful separation in the App so you don’t have just one cluttered light section.
so there’s no way to set up my account to activate the mimolite to open a door if I have a doorbell cam? My house has a securitron door strike controller and I need a momentary contact to remotely open the door but it sounds like the qolsys is useless for that.
To clarify, what is the end goal in this case?
Are you referring to controlling the lock manually from within the Doorbell Cam screen on the app?
The Qolsys panel is just transmitting the details passed to it from the Mimolite switch. Regardless of what you use the switch for it will report as a Binary Switch type device, and it will show up in the light switches list.
This won’t impact whether or not it can be activated remotely. You can access it via the app and pressing On will activate the momentary output on the Mimolite.
Unfortunately at this time you cannot manually edit the device type, so there would be no way for it to show up as a lock. We are happy to forward this use case to ADC and see if we can get this slated for development though!
I have electronic door strikes with an outdoor keypad and indoor control panel (securitron dk-26). The control panel has a dry contact which when activated by a relay can unlock the strikes. I was planning on using the mimolite to activate the dry contact.
At this point it seems like my best option is cancelling my alarm.com subscription and going with a z-wave gateway which offers more customization like Vera or Smartthings.
I have electronic door strikes with an outdoor keypad and indoor control panel (securitron dk-26). The control panel has a dry contact which when activated by a relay can unlock the strikes. I was planning on using the mimolite to activate the dry contact.
You can control the device in this manner, it just would not be labeled as a lock. From above, you can access the Mimolite switch via the Alarm.com app and pressing On will activate the momentary output on the Mimolite (if the Mimolite is set to momentary).
So we are 100% on the same page, is the main frustration the fact that it will show up in the list of light switches, since ADC goes one step further and automatically categorizes all switches as lights?
The Qolsys panel is limited in terms of Z-wave parameter editing, yes, though you cannot edit the Binary Switch command class via other controllers either. All controllers will see the mimolite as a switch. It does not use any lock command classes. This will similarly be something to overcome by other means, though I couldn’t say what other work-arounds might exist.
Thank you for providing the use case as that will help with sending this to ADC as a feature enhancement request.
is there a way to label that light option when answering my skybell so it shows up on the screen? Specifically as seen here with the “unlock” button: https://www.alarm.com/images/blog/alarm-com-wifi-doorbell-camera.jpg
Honestly the lack of customization is the only dealbreaker for me with the Qolsys panel. I have found workarounds for many of their shortfallings, like hunting down aeon labs minimotes because they can be programmed to control dimming without needing to associate a scene to it like every other zwave remote on the market that doesn’t work with the qolsys IQ because it’s so un-customizable but this one is definitely a dealbreaker for me as I’m not tearing out a all of my door strikes because they chose to make their panel sub-par.
sorry for the rant but as long as you’re going to send them something it might as well contain my entire effort and opinion on their equipment.
is there a way to label that light option when answering my skybell so it shows up on the screen?
No, only devices that report as a lock type will be visible there, and you cannot manually set what type of device it is. The device itself reports that information.
I understand the feedback and the desire to customize as much as possible. We are always thrilled to provide feedback and enhancement requests to vendors and ADC as this is a major driving force in development. It certainly would be possible to alter how an individual device is handled on the back-end, but I couldn’t say how much development that would take, and typically these things would be implemented based on demand. There are probably other use cases for such a thing too so it is not out of the realm of possibility.
I would point out that this is not a unique limitation to the Qolsys panel. It is not a possibility on any alarm panel. Changing the device type that the mimolite passes is not a possibility on any controller at all.
The device type passed to the panel/ADC/any other controller is a result of the device itself (the mimolite) and its Z-wave parameters. Any change in how that is presented must be designed in the controller software or remote access software to essentially override the information provided by the device. I don’t know of any controller that offers this kind of customization, but it is possible.
Instead of changing the device type, a fix that would likely be quicker to implement might be requesting ADC to allow a user to choose a couple specific devices to have control over in the Doorbell camera page, instead of only defaulting to locks, and allow locks or light switches to be selected. It could be argued that you might want the ability to turn on a porch light during the call too.